Yes, that's another thing I appreciated - too many FMA'ers start from "so I've got the weapon in my hand". Saw a demo years ago, where one of the combatants hadn't practiced drawing the knife from under his shirt. Spent a long, painful few moments struggling to draw the damn thing, in front of a few hundred people.

Yeah, I've trained in some personal methods of drawing weapons. That is to say, even though I've done weapon arts for a long time, they're of the "so I've got the weapon in my hand" variety, so when I started to practice them, it was trial and error/common sense, not a formal style.

In my first DB stickfight, I caught a kick and swept the other guy's leg out so he fell, but he pulled me down with him so we started fighting on the ground. I went to get the training knife in my waistband, but I ended up in a position where my shirt was keeping me from getting to it, and while I struggled to get the knife out the other guy got a reverse mount and stabbed me in the taint. Each time after that, I've practiced drawing from the front or back, with the left or right, into a forward or reverse grip, while standing, kneeling, on my back, or moving circularly.

In my first DB stickfight, I caught a kick and swept the other guy's leg out so he fell, but he pulled me down with him so we started fighting on the ground. I went to get the training knife in my waistband, but I ended up in a position where my shirt was keeping me from getting to it, and while I struggled to get the knife out the other guy got a reverse mount and stabbed me in the taint. Each time after that, I've practiced drawing from the front or back, with the left or right, into a forward or reverse grip, while standing, kneeling, on my back, or moving circularly.

I've been told (and it seems quite plausible) that the reason for highlanders wearing the skean dubh stuffed into the top of a sock, is because it's easy to draw if you've been knocked to the ground - no chance of lying on it, or having clothing get in the way.

I'm always disappointed when I see a cool technique or martial art and then I don't see any sparring videos about the art/technique. I'm not saying that I think Sanatan Shastarvidiya is bad or anything, but videos with aliveness are always the most entertaining to me.

I'm always disappointed when I see a cool technique or martial art and then I don't see any sparring videos about the art/technique. I'm not saying that I think Sanatan Shastarvidiya is bad or anything, but videos with aliveness are always the most entertaining to me.

This is a problem I see with Shastar Vidya, the lack of sparring. Hell, it would seem to have a lack of basics too. Although there's a lot of really cool material to learn, I would say the students have a very long road to achieve proficiency. Again, that's why I put the art in the "exotic" category - an interesting add-on, but I couldn't see it being my base art.

This is a problem I see with Shastar Vidya, the lack of sparring. Hell, it would seem to have a lack of basics too. Although there's a lot of really cool material to learn, I would say the students have a very long road to achieve proficiency. Again, that's why I put the art in the "exotic" category - an interesting add-on, but I couldn't see it being my base art.

Part of why I'm surprised at the lack of sparring in Shastar Vidya is that I have seen some Gatka sparring videos before (the few that I've seen are typically light contact without protective gear), and it seems that incorporating the stuff from Shastar Vidiya into Gatka-style sparring would be a positive experience because the two arts are related. You trained a bit with the guy in the video; did he ever say why there isn't that much aliveness in his class?

Part of why I'm surprised at the lack of sparring in Shastar Vidya is that I have seen some Gatka sparring videos before

One of the main types of Gatka is actually from the 1800s and based on British swordplay, and that's where most of the sparring vids out there are from. While it's called Gatka, it actually looks to have at least as much in common with Western fencing than Indian martial arts.

One of the main types of Gatka is actually from the 1800s and based on British swordplay, and that's where most of the sparring vids out there are from. While it's called Gatka, it actually looks to have at least as much in common with Western fencing than Indian martial arts.

Oh wow. I'd read that much of Gatka comes from the practices of the British Indian Army, but I didn't know that the influence of British sword fighting was quite so strong. That also makes the name "gatka" really misleading; it's almost like saying that a huge portion of karate was actually muay thai in disguise.

One of the main types of Gatka is actually from the 1800s and based on British swordplay, and that's where most of the sparring vids out there are from. While it's called Gatka, it actually looks to have at least as much in common with Western fencing than Indian martial arts.

I wasn't aware of that link before. That raises a lot of questions.

So does British Swordplay influenced style use techniques from the British instead of traditional Sword/Stick techniques, or is it using traditional techniques but using Western fencing methods to train?

Does Shastar Vidya's style lack the British influence on the techniques and training methods?

Is this Western influence also related to the Vigny canne influence on Indian stickfighting?